Khabib Nurmagomedov shared a humorous moment with his old coach ahead of one of the busiest nights of his life.
UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov has had a wild UFC 311 fight week as he prepares Islam Makhachev and his bantamweight fighting cousin, Umar, for their title fights this weekend. Nurmagomedov was at the center of controversy this weekend after viral footage showed him being removed from a Frontier Airlines flight for sitting in an emergency exit row.
After Nurmagomedov shared his side of the incident, and Frontier Airlines issued a recent statement, the former UFC Lightweight Champion is returning his full, undivided attention to UFC 311. He will corner Makhachev and Umar for their fights at UFC 311 during the first promotional competition. pay-per-view event of the year.
In the final days of Umar and Makhachev's UFC 311 fight camp, Nurmagomedov leaned on the coach who helped guide him to greatness inside the Octagon. But unfortunately for Nurmagomedov, his coach did not come to his rescue this time.
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Khabib Nurmagomedov shares a funny moment with an old coach
During Episode 1 of the UFC 311: Embedded series, Nurmagomedov called out his American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez for recently forgetting about him.
“My shoulder does [hurt] for a week. All week I asked him to bring something [for my shoulder]and he says, 'I got it,'” Nurmagomedov said. “Now my shoulder is fine, but my heart is broken.
“Because this man forgot about me every day!”
Despite the miscommunication between Nurmagomedov and Mendez, they are both locked in for UFC 311. Umar will challenge Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight belt in the co-main event, while Makhachev defends the lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan.
UFC 311 will mark one of Khabib Nurmagomedov's final coaching appearances
Nurmagomedov recently hinted that UFC 311 will be one of the last high-profile coaching gigs of his young post-fight career. After retiring in 2020, he has become one of the top coaches in MMA, training multiple fighters to world championship status.
Nurmagomedov abruptly ended his fighting career after a win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, fulfilling a pre-fight promise to his mother. His father, Abdulmanap, died just months before UFC 254.
Ahead of UFC 311, Nurmagomedov doesn't hesitate to prepare two of his star students for the big spotlight. In the meantime, he's not afraid to temporarily let his guard down and enjoy some light-hearted moments with his team.
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